24. The likeness of the two parties is as the blind and the deaf and the seer and the hearer. Are they equal when compared? Will you not then take heed?

~~~

Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 5, Page 46

Here, Allah, the Exalted, makes a parable of the disbelievers and the believers. He says,

﴿مَثَلُ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ﴾

“The likeness of the two parties”

This refers to those disbelievers whom Allah first described as wretched, and then those believers whom He described with delightfulness. The first group is like one who is blind and deaf, while the second group is like he who sees and hears. Thus, the disbeliever is blind from the truth in this life and in the Hereafter. He is not guided to goodness, nor does he recognize it. He is deaf from hearing the proofs, thus he does not hear that which would benefit him. As Allah says,

﴿وَلَوْ عَلِمَ اللَّهُ فِيهِمْ خَيْرًا لأَسْمَعَهُمْ﴾

“Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen.” (8:23)

The believer is smart, bright and clever. He sees the truth and distinguishes between the truth and falsehood. Thus, he follows the good and abandons the evil. He hears and distinguishes between the proof and scepticism. Therefore, falsehood does not overcome him. Are these two types of people alike

﴿أَفَلاَ تَذَكَّرُونَ ﴾

“Will you not then take heed”

This statement means, “Will you not consider, so that you may distinguish between these two categories of people.”

12. O you who believe! Avoid much suspicions, indeed some suspicions are sins. And spy not, neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting) . And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is the One Who accepts repentance, Most Merciful.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 9, Page 200

Allah the Exalted forbids His faithful servants from being suspicious, which includes having doubts and suspicions about the conduct of one’s family, relatives and other people in general. Therefore, Muslims are to avoid suspicion without foundation. The Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab said, “Never think ill of the word that comes out of your believing brother’s mouth, as long as you can find a good excuse for it.” Malik recorded that Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, said that Allah’s Messenger said

Beware of suspicion, for suspicion is the worst of false tales; do not spy on one another; do not look for other’s faults; do not be jealous of one another; do not envy one another; do not hate one another; and do not desert (shun) one another. And O Allah’s servants! Be brothers!

The Two Sahihs and Abu Dawud recorded this Hadith. Anas said that the Messenger of Allah said

Do not shun each other; do not ignore one another; do not hate one another, and do not envy one another, and be brothers, O servants of Allah. No Muslim is allowed to shun his brother for more than three days.

Muslim and At-Tirmidhi collected this Hadith, who considered it Sahih.

11. O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one’s brother after having Faith. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.).

Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 9, Page 198.

Allah the Exalted forbids scoffing at people, which implies humiliating and belittling them. In the Sahih, it is recorded that the Messenger of Allah said,

«الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْصُ النَّاس»

Arrogance is refusing the truth and belittling people.

And in another Version:

«غَمْطُ النَّاس»

And despising people

It is forbidden to scoff at and belittle people, for the injured party could be more honored and dearer to Allah the Exalted than those who ridicule and belittle them. The statement of Allah the Exalted,

﴿وَلاَ تَلْمِزُواْ أَنفُسَكُمْ﴾

Nor defame yourselves,

forbids defaming each other. He among men who is a slanderer, and a backbiter, is cursed and condemned as Allah states

When the Messenger of Allah migrated to Al-Madinah, every man among us had two or three nicknames. When the Prophet called a man by one of these nicknames, people would say, `O Allah’s Messenger! He hates that nickname.’ Then this Ayah,

53. Say: “O ‘Ibadi (My slaves) who have transgressed against themselves (by committing evil deeds and sins)! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah, verily Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 8, Page 406.

This Ayah tells us that Allaah, may He be blessed and exalted, will forgive all the sins of those who repent to Him and turn back to Him, no matter what or how many his sins are, even if they are like the foam of the sea. This cannot be interpreted as meaning that sins will be forgiven without repentance, because Shirk can only be forgiven for the one who repents from it. Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn `Abbas, may Allaah be pleased with him, said that some of the people of Shirk killed many people and committed Zina (illegal sexual acts) to a great extent; they came to Muhammad and said, “What you are saying and calling us to is good; if only you could tell us that there is an expiation for what we have done.” Then the following Ayat were revealed:

10.Say (O Muhammad): “O My slaves who believe, be afraid of your Lord (Allaah) and keep your duty to Him. Good is (the reward) for those who do good in this world, and Allaah’s earth is spacious! Only those who are patient shall receive their rewards in full, without reckoning.”

Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 8, Page

Allah commands His believing servants to remain steadfast in their obedience and have Taqwa of Him.

(Say: “O My servants who believe, have Taqwa of your Lord. Good is for those who do good in this world…”) means, the one who does good deeds in this world, will have a good (reward) in this world and in the Hereafter.

﴿وَأَرْضُ اللَّهِ وَاسِعَةٌ﴾

(and Allah’s earth is spacious!) Mujahid said, “So emigrate through it and strive hard and keep away from idols.”

﴿إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّـبِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾

(Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning.) Al-`Awza`i said, “Their reward will not be weighed or measured; they will be given an immense reward.” As-Suddi said:

﴿إِنَّمَا يُوَفَّى الصَّـبِرُونَ أَجْرَهُمْ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ﴾

(Only those who are patient shall receive their reward in full, without reckoning.) means, “In Paradise.”

33. O mankind! Have Taqwa of your Lord, and fear a Day when no father can avail aught for his son, nor a son avail aught for his father. Verily, the promise of Allaah is true, let not then this present life deceive you, nor let the chief deceiver deceive you about Allaah.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir Volume 7, Page 597.

Here Allah warns people about the Day of Resurrection, and commands them to fear Him and remember the Day of Resurrection when

﴿لاَّ يَجْزِى وَالِدٌ عَن وَلَدِهِ﴾

(no father can avail aught for his son) which means, even if he wanted to offer himself as a sacrifice for his son, it would not be accepted from him. The same will apply in the case of a son who wants to sacrifice himself for his father — it will not be accepted from him.

Then Allah reminds them once again with the words:

﴿فَلاَ تَغُرَّنَّكُمُ الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا﴾

(let not then this present life deceive you)

meaning, do not let your feelings of contentment with this life make you forget about the Hereafter.

﴿وَلاَ يَغُرَّنَّكُم بِاللَّهِ الْغَرُورُ﴾

(nor let the chief deceiver deceive you about Allah) refers to the Shaytan. This was the view of Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah. The Shaytan makes promises to them and arouses in them false desires, but there is no substance to them, as Allah says:

(He makes promises to them, and arouses in them false desires; and Shaytan’s promises are nothing but deceptions.) (4:120).

Wahb bin Munabbih said: `Uzayr, peace be upon him, said: “When I saw the misfortune of my people, I felt very sad and distressed, and I could not sleep, so I prayed to my Lord and fasted, and I called upon Him weeping. There came to me an angel and I said to him: `Tell me, will the souls of the righteous intercede for the wrongdoers, or the fathers for their sons’ He said: `On the Day of Resurrection all matters will be settled, and Allah’s dominion will be made manifest and no exceptions will be made. No one will speak on that Day except with the permission of the Most Merciful. No father will answer for his son, or any son for his father, or any man for his brother, or any servant for his master. No one will care about anybody except himself, or feel grief or compassion for anyone except himself. Everyone will be worried only about himself. No one will be asked about anybody else. Each person will be concerned only about himself, weeping for himself and carrying his own burden. No one will carry the burden of another.”’ This was recorded by Ibn Abi Hatim.

21.O you who believe! Follow not the footsteps of Shaytan. And whosoever follows the footsteps of Shaytan, then, verily he commands Al-Fahsha’ [i.e. to commit indecency], and Al-Munkar [i.e. to do evil and wicked deeds]. And had it not been for the Grace of Allah and His Mercy on you, not one of you would ever have been pure from sins. But Allah purifies (guides to Islam) whom He wills, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.

53.And say to My slaves that they should (only) say those words that are the best. (Because) Shaytan verily, sows disagreements among them. Surely, Shaytan is to man a plain enemy.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Allaah commands His servant Muhammad to tell the believing servants of Allaah that they should address one another in their conversations and discussions with the best and politest of words, for if they do not do that, Shaytan will sow discord among them, and words will lead to actions, so that evil and conflicts and fights will arise among them. For Shaytan is the enemy of Adam and his descendants, and has been since he refused to prostrate to Adam. His enmity is obvious and manifest. For this reason it is forbidden for a man to point at his Muslim brother with an iron instrument, for Shaytan may cause him to strike him with it.

(No one of you should point at his brother with a weapon, for he does not know whether Shaytan will cause him to strike him with it and thus be thrown into a pit of Fire) Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded this Hadith with the chain of narration from `Abdur-Razzaq.

(O you who believe! Have Taqwa of Allaah, and be with those who are true) The Ayah says, adhere to and always say the truth so that you become among its people and be saved from destruction. Allaah will make a way for you out of your concerns and a refuge. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allaah said,

(Hold on to truth, for being truthful leads to righteousness, and righteousness leads to Paradise. Verily, a man will keep saying the truth and striving for truth, until he is written before Allaah as very truthful (Siddiq). Beware of lying, for lying leads to sin, and sin leads to the Fire. Verily, the man will keep lying and striving for falsehood until he is written before Allaah as a great liar.) This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs.